DRY Sparkling coming in hot with launch of two limited edition summer flavors

The flavors are singularly focused with only four ingredients to enhance the inherent flavor of the beverage, CEO and founder of DRY Soda Co, Sharelle Klaus, told BeverageDaily.

While there is a lot of work involved in creating new seasonal flavors, she says these are a necessity for driving flavor innovation.

Summer flavors​

The soon-to-be released seasonal flavors are a continuation of the brand’s pursuit of bringing new flavors that capture the essence of the food they are trying to channel.

DRY Sparkling says its beverages deliver a clean and crisp finish without any aftertaste caused by excess sweetness. The beverages are sweetened with pure cane sugar, with 70 calories per bottle of the Malali Watermelon flavor and 50 calories per bottle for Serrano Pepper.

Like its other products, the Serrano Pepper and Malali Watermelon flavors are non-GMO Project Verified, gluten-free, OU Kosher certified, caffeine-free, sodium-free, and made without artificial flavors or colors.

The two flavors will be sold in four-pack glass bottles at select retailers across the US with a suggested retail price of $6.99.

Why go seasonal?​

Klaus acknowledges the operational cost of producing seasonal beverages, but sees it as a necessity to continue to drive flavor innovation and to bring more flavors to consumers.

“There’s a lot of work that goes into creating whole new flavors,”​ Klaus said. “But we have to put our money where our mouth is and be innovative. This is what consumers expect and what they want.”​

Consumers are growing increasingly more adventurous in beverage flavors, a behavior she noticed with the launch of DRY Sparkling’s first product, a basil-flavored beverage.

“I thought ‘is the world really ready for basil?’ I think the world is really open to that now,”​ Klaus said. “This concept of more unique and culinary flavors is hitting the mainstream.  A lot of companies are responding to that and we’re not dumbing it down.”​

Adventure seekers of all ages​

DRY Sparkling has been able to pinpoint what consumers are craving in a natural soda based on psychographic research, Klaus said.

“It was really nice to not put demographics on it,”​ a limiting measurement of consumer behavior, and instead focus on what the consumer is like, she said.

Asked who is buying DRY Sparkling, Klaus said: “They’re definitely adventurous and usually the leader in their circles of trying things first, and usually a little bit more culinary focussed,”​ more concerned with quality of ingredients over nutrition, she added.

While millennials remain a large consumer of the organic soda line, people buying DRY Sparkling range in age and income level, Klaus said.